I spent the Thanksgiving holiday in and around Shepherdstown, West Virginia. I dont get there often, and when I do it’s usually just in the late fall. It has surprisingly warm weather this week!

It’s a beautiful part of the country, with rolling hills, a gentle wooded skyline at every turn. Roads meander through the middle of farms, making you feel like you’re trespassing, in a way. And deerlots and lots of deer. Count that as a warning if you’re driving in the area early on the Sunday morning after the holiday. Believe me, I speak from experience.

I spent several hours on Small Business Saturday (as the first Saturday after Thanksgiving has become known) walking up and down the three-block business district of the very-small town of Shepherdstown. Picture old brick buildings. And I mean the original brick from a hundred years ago or more. And I mean old and orange brick. They just dont make bricks like that anymore. With temperatures in the 60s—unusual for this time of year, even in Zone 6—it was a very pleasant day to walk, talk, and shop around.

Take advantage of warm fall weather

Now, why am I writing what reads more like a travelogue? Because of this: I noticed some veggie gardening going on in the sunny sections of at least two old red brick homes in Shepherdstown. And not summer-worn gardening, either. In one case, the homeowner had tilled a small 8-ish foot by 3 foot portion of the lawn very near the sun-soaked back wall of the brick home. In the morning when I walked by this yard, I noticed this stretch was pup-tented with a light white landscape-type fabric. Ah, I knew what likely lay beneath.

By midday the tent was down, revealing a crop of leafy spinach. By my estimates, the seeds were planted little more than two months ago. With the warm fall we’ve had, this spinach has undoubtedly been growing by leaps and bounds. Add with the heat emanating from the red brick wall and the protection from chill given by the fabric, the microclimate surrounding the spinach must have been quite encouraging.

Build a simple cold frame

Anyone who has been reading Just Veggies over the years knows I threaten to build a cold frame each fall or early spring. I have high hopes of eating fresh spinach long into winter and at the earliest possible date in the spring.

It’s never come to fruition, and I believe its because I dream too big.

Big cold frame! Involved and complicated! Clearly, this West Virginian gardener has the right idea. Till a little patch. Situate it near a sunny brick wall. Protect it from chills with a light fabric. Let Mother Nature do what she will. In a year like this one, she just might let you enjoy a late harvest.

So, if you live in the more southerly climes with warm weather, why not give it a go? There’s still some cultivating warm weather left. Go ahead, push the limits.